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Marijuana Grow House

How can you win a Florida marijuana grow house case?

This marijuana grow house page talks about how you can win a marijuana grow house case, also called cultivation or trafficking in marijuana. Other topics include what if the police use a dog to sniff for marijuana at my house? How do snitches or informants factor? How many marijuana plants need to be growing before minimum mandatory prison sentences kick in? When will the feds indict on a marijuana grow house vs. a state cultivation charge by the Florida state attorney?

Can I win a marijuana cultivation grow house case if the cops used a dog to sniff the marijuana growing at my house in Florida?

A lot of marijuana grow house drug cases start by a dog sniffing out the marijuana. The drug dog sniff may be at your home, in a car or other place. The Supreme Court case of Florida v. Jardines changes the landscape of whether the police can send the dog to sniff at your front door.

If you are charged with cultivation of marijuana, a fancy way of saying you are growing weed, and a dog sniff was involved, you may have a valid search and seizure issue. The proper motion to file is a motion to suppress. If the motion to suppress is granted, your whole case could be dropped.

In Jardines, the Florida Supreme Court held that a dog sniff test conducted by Government agents at a private residence "is a substantial government intrusion into the sanctity of the home and constitutes a search within the meaning of the fourth amendment."

The Florida Supreme Court applied the test set forth in Katz v. United States, 389 US 347 (1967). The Katz court held that a fourth amendment search occurs when the government violates a subjective expectation of privacy that society recognizes as reasonable.

The United States Supreme Court took up the Jardines case in 2012. The question was whether a dog sniff at the front door of the home is a fourth amendment search requiring probable cause.

What if the dog sniff at my marijuana grow house was based on an informer's tip?

The majority decision authored by justice Scalia held that law enforcement officers use of the drug sniffing dog on the front porch of a home to investigate a tip that marijuana was being grown in the home constituted a search within the meaning of the fourth amendment.

However, the ruling by the majority didn't rely on the Katz decision as much as it relied on the test of when government obtains information by physically intruding on persons, houses, papers, or effects, a search within the original meaning of the fourth amendment has undoubtedly occurred.

The rationale was that cops were getting information in an area belonging to Jardines immediately surrounding the house. It was in the curtilage of the house or just around the house. The Supreme Court has consistently held that area enjoys protection as part of the home itself. Also, the cops gather that information by physically entering and occupying the area to engage in conduct not explicitly or implicitly permitted by the homeowner.

If the cops trespassed on my property and used a dog to sniff marijuana, can I get the case thrown out?

However, Justice Kagan wrote a concurring opinion. Three justices agreed with the majority that a fourth amendment search had taken place because the officers trespassed on Jardine's property.

In Florida, state courts remain bound by the decision of the Florida Supreme Court in Jardines. The court applied the Katz test and determined that the use of the drug detection dog to search for drugs inside a house did constitute a fourth amendment search. That's because the use of the dog is a substantial government intrusion into the sanctity of the home.

So what are police going to do after the Jardine's decision to arrest people for growing marijuana in their homes?

Some cops may try the knock and talk. And they will do it without a drug detection dog. In short, they will knock on the door and try to get the person to give consent to some kind of a search. Of their person. Of their house. Also, they will try to get them to consent to questioning.

Can I get my marijuana grow house case thrown out if police just knocked on my door without a dog sniffing for marijuana?

However, under Jardines, if the officers purpose is not just to attempt to speak to the occupant of the house, but rather to conduct a search of the home, the officers approach to the front door still constitutes a search within the meaning of the fourth amendment. In short, a person arrested for cultivation of marijuana may still have a valid motion to suppress even if the cops did not use a dog to sniff for marijuana at the pot grow house.

After Jardines, the cop's approach to a home may or may not be justified under the fourth amendment as a knock and talk. The actions of the cop must be examined to determine whether those actions objectively reveal a purpose to conduct a search. If such a purpose is revealed, the approach to the home constitutes a fourth amendment search because it violates the property rights of the residents of the home.

So what is the take away from the Jardine's decision as it relates to marijuana grow house cases in Florida?

First, cops cannot take a drug detection dog up to the front door of the home to sniff for drugs without probable cause or a search warrant. Why? Because it's a trespass to the curtilage of the home.

Second, police officers cannot enter the curtilage of a home if the actions taken by the officer establish that the officer's purpose is not simply to speak to the person in the home, but rather to conduct a search of the home.

How many marijuana plants does it take to get indicted in federal court? How much prison time am I facing?

In federal criminal court, the minimum mandatory prison sentences start at 100 marijuana plants. There is a five year minimum mandatory prison sentence upon conviction if you’re caught growing 100 or more marijuana plants. That’s why typically the feds will not indict you unless you are growing at least 100 marijuana plants.

In Florida state court, you will usually see the State charge cultivation of marijuana for growing even a single marijuana plant. For more than 25 pounds of marijuana or 300 or more plants, trafficking in cannabis charges will usually be filed.

What are the minimum mandatory prison sentences and fines in Florida for trafficking in cannabis?

3 years minimum mandatory prison sentence for trafficking in cannabis in excess of 25 pounds but less than 200 pounds, or 300 or more marijuana plants but not more than 2,000 marijuana plants and the mandatory fine is $25,000.

7 years minimum mandatory prison sentence for trafficking in cannabis of 2,000 pounds or more but less than 10,000 pounds or 2,000 or more cannabis plants but not more than 10,000 marijuana plants and the mandatory fine is $50,000.

15 years minimum mandatory prison sentence for trafficking in marijuana of 10,000 pounds or more or 10,000 or more cannabis plants and a mandatory fine of $200,000.

What is a marijuana plant for purposes of Florida marijuana cultivation charges?

Even a seedling or a cutting is a marijuana plant if it has some readily observable evidence of root formation like root hairs. It does not have to be a fully developed marijuana plant to be considered a plant.